The U.N. needs Robert Vaughn
By Keith D. Cummings
web posted December 1, 2003
There's a series of television commercials that have been running
in the Central Virginia area for several years for a local personal
injury law firm. The spokesman who gives what the commercial
refers to as a "compensated endorsement," is none other than
Robert Vaughn, part-time B-movie heavy and former Man from
U.N.C.L.E. Mr. Vaughn declares, with all the conviction that has
made him the box office draw he is, that you need his law firm to
prove to the insurance companies that, "You mean business!"
This commercial drives my sister-in-law crazy, but not for the
reason immediately obvious. She's not a desperate fan of Robert
Vaughn, she just despises the way my brother and I make fun of
Mr. Vaughn's delivery of his signature line. In every commercial,
before we see Napoleon Solo telling us that we need these
lawyers, we see a grainy, black and white vignette of the "other"
lawyers, the insurance company lawyers, plotting against the
victims. That's when Robert Vaughn and the law firm of Marks
& Harrison rush in to save the innocents.
My personal favorite of the many Marks & Harrison
commercials starts with the same grainy image. We're taken into
a conference room, into the secret recesses of the insurance
company's defense team. There are several lawyers around the
table, but only two really matter. One is an older man, heavy set
with thinning white hair; he looks like Santa's clean-shaven evil
twin. He stands proudly in a three-piece suit and addresses his
team, including his younger, thinner partner who is obviously
learning from the master. Together, they discuss the case.
"We've hired a top expert who sees the accident from our point
on view," the senior partner declares confidently. He then bends,
turns to his protégé and asks, nervously, "Have you heard
anything?"
"The law firm of Marks and Harrison called," the young man
relates. "They said they know what were up to and," followed by
a dramatic pause, "they raised their demand." The older lawyer is
crestfallen. He drops into his seat despondently and his face falls.
"This is serious," he explains. The power and the force of these
lawyers for the injured is immediately made clear. Regardless of
who is at fault, if Marks & Harrison are on your side, you will
prevail. These lawyers are so savvy, so competent, so capable
that they will quickly have the bad guys on the run. If you've
been injured in an accident, you need Marks & Harrison
because "They Mean Business!"
The UN is much like the law firm in these commercials. With
Iraq in the 1990s and with Iran in 2003, the UN means business.
The International Atomic Energy Agency, an agency of the UN
tasked with enforcing the non-proliferation treaty among other
things, has passed a resolution. They have told Iran that enriching
uranium to create weapons grade material is unacceptable. The
resolution undoubtedly has severe ramifications for Iran should
the nation fail to respond, should they continue with a weapons
development program.
Of course, Iran is a closed society. The mullahs in Tehran control
who enters and who leaves the country. They can, like a certain
Ba'ath party leader in a neighboring nation, hide the facilities and
evidence of their work. They are in charge. More importantly,
they have precedent on which to rely. They can look to the
sanctions and resolutions passed against Iraq, 17 in all from
1990 through 2002, as an indication of exactly how seriously the
UN takes its own orders. Iran has nothing to fear.
The United Nations would like to think of itself as a world body
with moral clarity and world authority. They sit in a room in New
York City and pass resolution after resolution, warning rogue
nations and potentially rogue nations alike that "They Mean
Business." Unfortunately, in a world where few professions are
more contemptible than that of personal injury attorney, United
Nations delegate is. Unlike the UN, sometimes the law firm of
Marks & Harrison gets results. Unlike the UN, for all their flaws,
the law firm of Marks & Harrison really does mean business.
Keith D. Cummings is the author of Opening Bell, a political /
financial thriller. His website can be found at
http://www.keith-cummings.com.
Enter Stage Right -- http://www.enterstageright.com